


Get Up And Stand

by Birdegg



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Boy these children really are just homeless huh, Exhaustion, Gen, Katara heals her friends after a fight with Azula, Minor Injuries, everyone is dead tired
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:01:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22639720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Birdegg/pseuds/Birdegg
Summary: Suki must notice somethings wrong in her expression, delirious as she likely was. “You okay Katara? Why aren’t you…why aren’t you resting.” She must not remember the past day.“I’m not tired.” It’s better not to get into it now. Later, when everyone’s better, she’ll tell them all. It’ll be funny, or it won’t be as bad as it is now. Sometimes it feels like team avatar only goes into battles to lose them, to be hurt and demoralized. And with an opponent like Azula, none of them got any sleep for her stubbornness in following them. Katara had been the least hurt. Or the least tired. Or something.Or; it's hard to get your ass kicked constantly and still have energy to take care of people.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 42





	Get Up And Stand

**Author's Note:**

> As I grow older, I am more and more horrified that the Gaang is so young. They're all just babies, what are they doing sleeping in the wilderness??? I think a lot of this fic is born out of that, and how hard this must be on them. Especially Katara, as the resident healer.

A rain drop falls onto the bridge of her nose, causing her to flinch. Katara looks towards the sky, watching the sleet grey clouds crowd together, fat and dark. Another drop lands on her ear, slipping from the shell to the inner part. She uses her palm to wipe it off, leaning her head towards her shoulder as if to shield that side of the face.

She could use water bending to protect herself, creating a sort of bubble. But she’s exhausted and sleep deprived, she barely has the strength to keep herself together never mind bend. She leans closer to the ground, shoes slipping slightly as she does. Stupid, badly made Fire Nation shoes, with no grip. She digs her heel into the moss, reaching for the nearest big leafed fern. She grabs just where the stem reaches from the ground and pulls. Her palms are already red and angry from doing this exact same action repeatedly. The white stem of the plant stings against her hands as she heaves, roots clinging underneath the dirt. She mutters out a curse and pulls harder, wishing her hair wasn’t in the way of her vision. The plant is expelled from the ground violently and she ends up on her ass, fern like leaves still clutched tightly in her hand. She lets out a breath, wiping at the rain drops that have collected on her forehead. This should be enough, or it has to, because she doesn’t want to be out in a forest when it starts storming. She turns to her pile of plants and scoops them up, arms aching even from their frail weight.

The climb from the forested hill to the bottom of the creek bed is mostly her sliding down thistles and rocks on her butt. It’s too steep for her to step down normally. Her arms have white lines across them, and they prickle and hurt. The rain has already begun to pick up, and her hair begins to stick heavily to her face. She spits out a dark drown lock for the fortieth time and begins to envy Aang.

The creek is freezing, but she doesn’t have time to hop from mud patch to mud patch, or to balance on its tiny receding shore. Instead, she stomps through the cold water, letting it flick wildly up to her ankles, dragging the ends of her pants down.

Appa is a welcome relief from the vegetation and rain. He’s practically hidden under the roots of a massive tree, dry and happy. Katara shivers. She walks faster, throwing herself with Appa. He lets out a large mumble as a greeting. Or he’s annoyed that she’s pressing her soggy body against his warm fur. It was hard to tell without looking at his face. She buries herself in his white pelt, glad for once that he’s so shaggy.

She rests for a few minutes before remembering that she didn’t pick the fern leaves for nothing. She inches along Appa, trying to get around him without stepping outside the roots protection. The rest of team Avatar lays on his flat tail, all in some mode of passed out. She leans down to Toph, the one with the most severe wounds. Her healing does well for burns, but not so well with cuts. And she wants to keep to infection away. She knows Toph won’t like chew up plant bits on her skin, but she also knows Toph will bitch if she gets an infection. She looks down to select a leaf, realizing with a start that there’s red on some of them. Blight? She brings one closer to her face, and from the slippery quality realizes what it is. Blood. She looks down to her hands, and at the blood smeared on the inside of them. Pulled to many plants, must have popped some blisters. Or the plants stem was sharp.

It doesn’t really bother her too much, but she feels strangely numb about it. She’s so tired. She lets out a deep sigh and wipes her palms against her pants. It’s Fire Nation. The red blends in.

She manages to gather the will (it’s harder, this time, to stand) and washes the plants in the rain.

By the time she applies the poultice to all of her friends, she is barely on her feet. She leans against the roots, breathing heavily.

“Did you…get the right plant?” Katara jumps, head swinging towards Suki’s voice. Why is she awake? Suki is in between Aang and Sokka, being the big spoon to Aang. That’s good, Katara thinks, Aang’s small and skinny. He could easily get hypothermia without body heat. Suki looks mostly asleep, eyes bleary and voice slow.

“I-” She hadn’t even checked with Suki. Fear jolts through her. She could have smeared something poisonous against her friend’s wounds, allowing the toxin to get directly into their blood streams.

“Never mind…you did.” Suki interrupts the beginning of her panic, fern in hand. Her pretty blue eyes examine the stem and colour carefully, before apparently being satisfied and putting it down. Katara tries to swallow down the remaining guilt. Her throat feels hot, like its swelling.

Suki must notice somethings wrong in her expression, delirious as she likely was. “You okay Katara? Why aren’t you…why aren’t you resting.” She must not remember the past day.

“I’m not tired.” It’s better not to get into it now. Later, when everyone’s better, she’ll tell them all. It’ll be funny, or it won’t be as bad as it is now. Sometimes it feels like team avatar only goes into battles to lose them, to be hurt and demoralized. And with an opponent like Azula, none of them got any sleep for her stubbornness in following them. Katara had been the least hurt. Or the least tired. Or something.

“Really?” Asks Suki, sounding mystified “You always seem really worn. Have…a nap or something…geez.” Katara snorts a little at Suki’s slurred words. At least this was funny.

“What a compliment. Go to bed Suki.” Suki is really out of it, and contrary to her defiant nature, closes her eyes. Katara contemplates joining her friends for a moment, collapsing in Appa’s pillow like fur and snuggling. Theirs a spot right between Sokka’s back and Toph.

She shakes her head and watches the rain. Someone has to remain guard. Azula isn’t the type of predator to give up, and Katara isn’t weak willed. She might be mostly propped into standing, leaning heavily into the dark roots of the tree behind her, but she can at least put in an effort.

She wouldn’t be much of a defense against anything right now. But she has to try. She presses her sore arms deeper into her shirt, hopping to warm up her fingers. She has to try.


End file.
